PT changes....

So I am about to be on my fourth physical therapist! Now they are trying to revert back to the beginning when I was working core all the time. With physical therapy I started with core strengthening, then therapeutic massages and stretching, then acupressure and cranial sacral method and now back to core strengthening. I made a full circle. Not quite sure what the new therapist will want to do. I have not yet done any traction...maybe that. Who knows all I know is I do feel better on days I go. It doesn't matter the method used, I do feel better. I may not be fixed and it may be a temporary "feel better" moment. But I do feel better when I leave.
I know a lot of people are against physical therapy or feel it doesn't work. That's okay because every treatment method does not work for everyone. Hopefully something you use helps alleviate some of the pain you experience. It does get hard because with chronic pain we get used to trying to ignore those signals. Pain just becomes an everyday part of our lives. We should be so advanced in medicine that we could just push a button and a machine would correct us. Right?...I think I will get to work on that :)

Bright side

Okay so there's not a whole lot of bright side things about a bad back. However, I have found a few.

1. People come to me. I don't go out and visit a whole lot because the car ride alone may cause issues. So my friends and family do most of the driving and come see me :) I don't ever want to take advantage of this so when I am feeling good I go see people. But it is nice when people just show up on my door to say hi.
2. I get my bags carried. My nephews bless their little hearts carry EVERYTHING for me. It's amazing what cooking for boys can get you!
3. I have fancy toes. I know how to use them to pick up all kinds of things off the floor, pretty fancy if you ask me.
4. I'm never behind on my shows anymore. When I am having a rough day I get to lay in bed and catch up on all my shows, awesome!
5. I can do the longest plank ever. Due to physical therapy I could plank all day....okay maybe not all day but I can do it for a really long time.

Lastly, I think you realize the love you have for those around you. It may not be easily recognized otherwise but you really understand the folks around you that love you through thick and thin. Love is hard to show when your hurting. But it's a beautiful thing to know there's still an unconditional love you can give and recieve.
Well that's all for tonight ladies and gents, have a great night!

I used to love rain...

Ah! It's raining again! The sound of rain used to lull me into a deep sleep more than usual and I would sleep so well. Now even with pain meds I get woken up to tight muscles wanting to spaz out. This is so crazy. The only thing I know how to do when I'm sleeping is stretch my muscles out and they seem to calm. The one stretch I do that seems to help most is lying on my back and bringing my knee to my chest and just holding it. I'm not sure if ice on rainy nights would help or heat. I will look into that.
I miss loving the rain. I miss loving the rumbles of thunder as they rock me away to dream land. Now all I got to lull me to sleep is snoring from the husband and and dog who whimpers when she dreams. Speaking of the one who snores, I had 2 nephews over one night and I fell asleep way before the husband and nephews. When I woke to use the bathroom I heard awful snoring from the living room I walked in to see how many people were in there sleeping on the couches. The snoring had two awful tunes so I thought maybe all of them are in the living room sleeping. To my surprise it was just my husband snoring away on the couch. The two tunes were when he breathed in one noise and when he breathed out a different noise! I could not believe it was just him. Crazy!
Well on a brighter not so tired note, I have a new puppy laying next to me. She hails from the same parents my other puppy came from. She is adorable. I forgot how tiny my puppy was. This one came to me close to being trained. She whimpers a lot but I think it's only day two and she's just been scared. It's died down a bit from day 1. She has the floppiest ears when she runs it is the sweetest thing.
Well on that note I will try and close my eyes and go back to sleep. Hopefully.
Bye for now.

Pain management = nothing exciting

So on my last appointment with my pain management doctor nothing exciting happened. I got my scripts refilled and a couple shots in my back. Same stuff I've been getting. Except he put my next appointment two months out. That's the only thing that changed. I think he feels that I'm stable maybe. I don't know but I don't like that this is it. Pills and shots?
I feel like he's a good doctor but as he stated pm only treats the symptoms.

Grrrrr I wish there was a more clear resolution.

I'm not stable damn it!

Recap - Degenerative disc disease

Just to recap for those who do not want to go through all my posts to find what all I have been going through and doing, I will just give a quick run down.
For starters I live in the U.S., I got me a doggie, I am married and I still work.
I have 2 discs that are gone or at least appear to be in my MRI. I have huge boobs, but I made a consultation for a reduction hopefully it works cuz these suckers are huge!
I have a slight bulge and a slight slip over my coccyx.
Work is, ehhhhhh well work. I do nothing strenuous but sit and talk on the phone....for me and some others it's a nightmare. Just the thought of sitting all day in one spot without the opportunity to lie down, CRaZY.
My husband and puppy are amazing both of them are very supportive of me :)
Now for the medical stuff.
I have had problems forever and a day, since I was like 13. Got diagnosed at like 28-ish. I always thought I was a hypochondriac and my back was just my imagination or something. Probably it was my boobs.
Dr. wanted me to get a double fusion when I was 30 however insurance denied it. He was opting for an ALIF. It is where they go in from the front.
Referred to pain management after that all got denied. I'm now 31.
I see my doctor about every month.
I do physical therapy twice a week.
I get steroid and anti-inflammatory shots, 4 different pills and I recently got my at home tens unit.
Therapy is different. I see different people so they are all trying different things. The latest was cranial sacral method. Feels fine for like a day then back to pain. My previous therapist worked more on strength and core and that seemed the most helpful. I try to do exercises at home but its just not the same. I need to get into a serious regimine maybe that will help.
So that's what I've been doing in a nut shell. I have another post comming up here in a few days after I see my doctor until then I will be trying out my exercises.
:)

No Improvement?

Since probably 2 doctor visits ago I have seen no improvement. The last time I seen my doctor I told him everything felt like it was plateauing. This month I feel like absolutely no improvement has been made. I do know I slacked off on my exercises and that does seem to help. Maybe I should make it a point this month to get back into it. My physical therapist thinks I am strong enough. Other than that I am not quite sure what is going on. If I have just reached my point of wellness or what.

Side Note: I might be getting rid of these BOOBS!! Yay!! I made an appointment for a consultation in August so we shall see! They are so big I am hoping they will be like yeah those puppies are going bye-bye, lol.

I am wondering if everything will feel so much better after they are gone. I have been noticing difficulty in bending forward to pick things up off the ground or chairs or whatever. Not that it has ever been super easy but yeah know.

Anywho, I noticed I have not posted this month. It has been such a busy month. Such as, we went blueberry picking this morning good thing we got kids around. There are so many berries around LOVE IT!! Cherry picking will be on Monday for sure. Gotta get in on some of that sweetness.

Well I will update after I see my doctor on Tuesday. My goodness such a mix up with my gabapentin(neurontin) last month. I had to get it switched to a 90 day supply otherwise my insurance would not accept it. It took forever and I had to pay out of pocket for 21 pills it cost like 25$ ....STUPID INSURANCE.... I guess I really can't live without my insurance. I wish I lived somewhere with free but good medical care!! I feel like I pay enough in taxes that I should just be taken care of all the way. :)
Alrighty new post probably Tuesday or Wednesday!
Take care for now!

Ultimate 5 TENS unit

So last week I did not post I was kind of lazy about it. My nephew is staying with me for the summer so I was preoccupied with that. But anyway I went to the doctor last week and he gave me a tens unit. It is an Ultima 5.

If you are not sure what a T.E.N.S. unit(Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) is I will explain. A tens unit is to help block the pain signals to your brain. Sometimes in physical therapy they will casually call it e-stim for electronic stimulus. If you have had it done in physical therapy it is basically the same thing just a portable unit.
There are 4 pads that are less sticky than a bandaid those get put on your body where the pain is. Those get connected to the leads that transport the electronic signal. I have two pads pictured below.

After you connect the leads to the pads you then connect it to the actual unit.

I have used it a couple of times the instructions are not really clear on the different modes. It seems to work well. The pads are smaller than the ones used at physical therapy. That does not seem to take away from what it can do.
If you have never used one before the first time is a bit different. My therapist says it feels like little tiny ants crawling on your back. I feel that is a pretty fair description. However, I feel that sensation changes the higher you turn it up, it starts to feel better. The lowest level is almost irritating because it is a lighter sensation. But then too high might be too much. It is all about personal preference.

Well I can't think of anything else to add about the tens unit today.
Until next time ...